Cochise Stronghold!!!

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Some pics of my new spiritual home, the shots lifted from the best set of guidebooks available. I'm so lucky to live near this place, I even have a primo million-dollar view of the Dragoon Mountains & the Stronghold (West Side). The Stronghold is where Cochise & his Chiricahua Apache tribe hung out, it's a huge natural stone fortress which was easily defended from ground assault back in the 1800s. Union troops once dragged a cannon or two to the base of the Dragoons and shelled the Stronghold, but the cannon fire had virtually no effect---too many places to hide or take cover among the rocks, lol. Today, the Stronghold offers world-class technical rock climbing to those who are into such activity, and plenty of boulder scrambling too on large outcrops. Visitors can also enjoy stellar hiking, horseback riding, and free camping! Yes, FREE CAMPING!!! There's a developed pay campground on the East Side, for those who want showers & crappers & picnic tables, lol. Without any further ado, let's visit the Stronghold and see what sort of climbing is available on that excellent 'Stronghold Granite' (as it is known to geologists & rock climbers). Here we go, ya might wanna buckle your harness, lol...

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Lemme see, this site only allows five photo attachments per post, right? So I'll break the pics into sets of five... back in a moment.

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Round #2 of Stronghold pics:

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[Sidewinder]

Round #3 of Stronghold pics... I love this place, it's like a huge adult playground!

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Round #4 of Stronghold pics:


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Round #5 of Stronghold pics:

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That fifth 'pic' is actually the guidebook description of the route seen in the fourth pic, lol... "The Bad Little Waitress!!!"   :club:

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Round #6 of Stronghold pics:


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[Sidewinder]

Round #7 of Stronghold pics:

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Badass climbing venue, AYE? And there must be THOUSANDS of routes just waiting for first ascenders, no shortage of crags, domes & spires out there, lol. Did I mention FREE CAMPING for those climbers into the 'dirtbag' lifestyle? Doesn't get any better than that, though the approaches can be arduous, to say the least. However, on both sides of the range there are routes right near the dirt road, lol. Heaps of bouldering & boulder scrambling as well, so gear isn't always necessary, though good climbing shoes & chalkbag are essential. Just figured I'd share those guidebook shots of the Stronghold, as it is a little-known climbing venue... part of the charm, no doubt. CHEERS!!!  

P.S. Perhaps some of you noticed the climbing cuties in several shots? Gotta love gals into climbing, skip the makeup and grab the climbing gear... my kinda women, lol.